Child hospitalised by Kangaroo!

A child was rushed to hospital after being attacked by a kangaroo on a property in Victoria.

Emergency services were called to a farm in Yering just before 8am on Sunday morning.

The pre-school-aged child was found with facial injuries and was treated by ambulance staff.

The young child was driven to the Royal Children’s Hospital in a stable condition.

Police weren’t involved in the incident.

What to do?

If you are approached by an aggressive kangaroo you should keep it at a safe distance so that it can’t kick or scratch.

For example, hold up a stick or a branch, or stay behind a fence or a tree. Move away from the animal as quickly as you can. Don’t turn your back on it and run—a large male can easily outrun you and kick at the same time. Turn side-on, protect the front of your body with your arms and keep your head as far away from the kangaroo as possible to minimise the risk of being scratched on the face.

If it is a large male with dominant behaviour, it may see you as a threat. Protect yourself and let the kangaroo know you are not a threat—give a short, deep cough, avoid eye contact and crouch down as you move away.

Females and smaller male kangaroos are less likely to be aggressive but may approach if they are used to being fed or have had a lot of human contact. Even though females are much smaller than males, they can scratch and kick and could pose a safety risk—particularly to small children.

As a last resort, if you can’t escape an attacking kangaroo, roll up into a ball on the ground with your arm covering your neck and call for help. Try to roll or crawl away to a safe place.

We hope she makes a speedy recovery.

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14 Comments

- - mom94125 said
  - 02 Sep 2017
    8:37 pm
wow that would have been very scary to have come across and very traumatic! i hope the child has made a full recovery now

- - june11 said
  - 14 Aug 2017
    10:22 pm
Kangaroos can be very unpredictable. Keep your car windows closed in areas you know kangaroos live. If they jump into your car they would panic and you would be lucky to survive. It is not just their legs / paws you have avoid at all cost, imagine being whipped by their tail.
Imagine driving along a dirt road and having a kangaroo bounding along beside you. It happened to a couple I know who were in an ordinary delivery truck (not truck with a trailer attached), so the driver slowed right down. He had no idea which way the kangaroo would go when it decided to leave the road. What worried the driver even more was they were at a motorsport rally and there was a Policeman on a motorbike following them. He was worried it would jump across the road between the truck and the motorbike. The Poilceman had seen the kangaroo and was riding very slowly. THey were all very relieved when the kangaroo went straight into the scrub, not across the road. None of them want to witness that again.

- - BellaB said
  - 02 Aug 2017
    1:38 pm
Kangaroos can be quite scary close up.

- - Ellen said
  - 02 Aug 2017
    3:00 am
Aw bless, that must have been scary & painful.
Glad she isn’t injured worse ! Hope she recovers soon.

- - mom101628 said
  - 01 Aug 2017
    9:45 pm
So lucky the injuries weren’t worse. Kangaroos are not the cute things that “Skippy” portrayed. Can be very vicious. Good tips in the post to protect yourself.

- - mom90758 said
  - 01 Aug 2017
    4:23 pm
Kangaroos can become really aggressive. What a scare for the child. I hope he will recover soon.

- - country chick said
  - 01 Aug 2017
    11:55 am
They look so friendly but can be so vicious!

- - mom94378 said
  - 01 Aug 2017
    10:18 am
Bit like my partner’s cooking – they look great but can be dangerous!!

- - mom160421 said
  - 31 Jul 2017
    9:32 pm
Could have been worse. I hope the little child makes a full recovery.

- - mom112217 said
  - 31 Jul 2017
    6:44 pm
Hoping a quick recovery for the little one,a scary encounter.

- - natct said
  - 31 Jul 2017
    5:16 pm
So lucky he wasn’t hurt more!

- - mom93821 said
  - 31 Jul 2017
    3:20 pm
Poor child – hopefully the injuries will heal quickly. We always teach animal safety and caution – particularly with kangaroos.

- - nealsq said
  - 31 Jul 2017
    1:50 pm
lucky kid, could have been killed!

- - mom206279 said
  - 31 Jul 2017
    1:37 pm
Poor little kid. Could have been so much worse.